Izaya and Teko: The Dark Eco Legacy
by Rayne Falcon-Punches Hanson
Summary: Izaya is a mute, and Teko is her overly talkative best friend. Their story is full of Dark Eco, Metal Heads, and Adventures! Join us as these two venture to Gol and Maia's Citadel in order to return Teko to her true form, and maybe even meet their predecessors along the way. Will they manage? Will they really meet Jak and Daxter? Find out! R&R!
1. Dark Eco & A Sage

**Chapter 1:** Dark Eco & A Sage

**Chapter Song:** The Reason, by Hoobastank

"_I've found a reason for me, to change who I used to be._

_A reason to **start over new**, and the reason is you._"

**Mood of the Chapter:** Happy

* * *

"_When reaching for our futures, we sometimes fall into our pasts. We encounter our fates on the paths we take to avoid doing so. In these desperate times, we must ask ourselves an important question. Are we truly ready to let go of the past and face our fate with open arms?_"

It all started a year ago.

Teko and I were put into quite a spin when I accidentally knocked her into a vat of Dark Eco. We were on Myriad Island**(1)**, exactly where Samos—yeah, _that_ Samos—told us not to go. I never should have taken Teko there… I'm surprised she doesn't hate me for what happened.

"Hey, uh… Izaya… Old Green-stuff told us not to come here!"Teko said. That girl is the spitting image of her older brother.

I said nothing, and led her across the island. I knew my way around the island, considering I basically grew up running around on it. I clambered up a rock ledge and motioned for Teko to follow me. She landed next to me with a small sound of pain. I looked down at the land below us. A man and a woman walked out of an old door in a Precursor building that I'd often explored back before Samos had taken Teko and me in.

The man motioned toward the large open area in front of him where quite a few Knilarases were gathered. (Knilarases are large radioactive green monsters, much like lurkers, but just a little smarter, and quite a bit harder to kill.)

"Continue your search for Dark Eco! If any of the villagers own Precursor artefacts, you know what to do."He said. His voice sounded kind of wheezing, like he was having trouble breathing.

"Deal harshly with anyone who strays from the borders of the village. We will attack it in due time."The woman said, looking almost reverent as she said it.

Teko and I looked each other for a second before I dropped down off the ridge. As I did, I briefly saw a Knilaras look in our general direction. Luckily it didn't actually see us, so we kept walking toward where I actually wanted to go.

A large vat of Dark Eco sat in front of us as we walked. I didn't pay any mind to it, really, because Dark Eco wouldn't have any effect on me at all.

"What are we doin' here anyway, Izaya? This place gives me the creeps!"She whined.

I still said nothing. I really didn't say much back then. It just wasn't really my thing to talk. Actually, I'm pretty sure I never said anything at the time. I only remember screaming when I got frustrated or just about died falling off something.

Anyway, we approached the vat, and I heard a slightly muffled, "Oof!" I turned, ready to save her from whatever might have caught her. When I didn't see her, my gaze went to the ground. I chuckled lightly when I saw her flat on the ground. She gave me an indignant look.

She looked back to see what had tripped her. She got up on her hands and knees, and turned around.

"Ugh! Stupid Precursor junk!"She said, getting up and picking up said 'junk'.

I rolled my eyes and looked over at the Dark Eco, crossing my arms and leaning back boredly. Holding the 'junk'—which was a cylinder with a few markings that might as well have been squiggles on it—, Teko walked over to me.

"Eek! What is that dark ooze?! Sure don't look friendly…"She said. Seeming to forget though, she blew some dust off of the top of the cylinder. "The old Sagely-man yaps on about the Precursors who built this place all the time." She then tried to mimic old Samos—to her credit, she did a good job—, "Where~ did they go? Why~ did they build this crap?" On the last sentence, she threw the cylinder up in the air. I caught it quickly, before it fell to the ground. "Now, I like Precursor orbs and Power cells as much as the next guy, but if you ask me, they were real losers…Woah!"

The cylinder I my hands was glowing red.

"How did you do _that_?!"She asked.

I shook my head, shrugging. And then, a much larger than usual Knilaras dropped down behind us.

"Izaya, I think we're in _**TROUBLE**_!"She yelled, jumping behind me, her back to the Dark Eco vat.

The Knilaras roared and started to charge us. I did the first thing I could think of. I ran forward and threw the glowing cylinder right into the Knilaras's face. It exploded, throwing me back. I rammed into Teko, my back flat against her chest. She fell right into the Dark Eco as I got up, turned, and stared with wide eyes down into the vat right as it engulfed her.

I felt a rush of sadness and guilt flood through me, and then, the Dark Eco spat her back out. To my surprise, she was perfectly fine, except for one thing… She was an ottsel.

"Man, that stung!"She said. She turned around quickly and marched up to me, and I knelt to see her up close. Her anger was rather comical, considering her current situation. "I told you we shouldn't have come here!"She yelled, "And you _listened_." Sarcasm. Wow. I was staring at her, surprised. "_**WHAT**_?!"She asked, annoyed.

I raised an eyebrow. She hadn't noticed yet. Wow. Her arms and gone up and away from her body when she had yelled the last time. She then spotted her hands and her eyes widened. She screamed.

She fell to the ground and pounded the ground with her tiny ottsel fists. "WAHHHHH!"She yelled. "Okay, okay I'm fine, I'm fine."She said, her hands over her chest. She looked down and saw her tail twitching. She jumped on me and held my shoulders. "WAHHHHH!"

I rolled my eyes, and put her on my right shoulder. She muttered something under her breath and lay down with her head and arms on the opposite shoulder.

I was across the island and in the boat in less than two minutes. When we got to the mainland, Teko jumped off my shoulders and walked ahead of me up Samos's house-ramp. And as soon as she set foot on the floor in his house, he turned around.

"What in green tarnation do you two want?!"He asked.

"W-we were—They were—I-i was—!"Teko stammered, hiding behind my leg.

"Don't tell me. Instead of heeding my wisdom, the two of you went mucking about in the one place I told you not to go: Myriad Island."

"That's right! And then we—"

"And Teko, you finally took a much needed bath. In a bathtub filled with _Dark Eco_."Samos said.

Obviously, he likes her just about as much as he likes her brother.

"Look old man, are you gonna keep yappin', or are you gonna help me out of this mess?!"Teko yelled.

"I'm gonna keep yappin'! Because, in my professional opinion, the change is an improvement."He said. "Besides, I couldn't help you if I wanted to."He added as an afterthought.

"What?!"Teko asked. She looked so shocked, the poor thing. She should've expected it. He's only the Sage of Green Eco, it only makes sense that he wouldn't be able to mess with the effects of Dark Eco.

"There are only two people who have studied Dark Eco long enough to know how to get you back to your original form. Gol and Maia Acheron. They live far to the North. Far, far to the North. Nobody has spoken to them since they were revived some few years ago. I _would_ teleport you there, but I can't do that either.

"None of the other three sages who maintain the other teleporter gates haven't seen fit to turn their ends on for quite some time. The only other way North is by foot through the Fire Canyon, but its volcanic soil is hot enough to melt Precursor metal, so you can't just walk through it."

"But you _could_ fly over it."Keira said, leaning against the wall, "_If_ you had a zoomer equipped with a heat shield."She pushed away from the wall with her shoulder and walked toward us. "I just so happen to be working on a new one at this very moment. All I would need are 20 Power Cells to give it enough energy to withstand the canyon's heat."

"Yes, that would certainly work, but where are a girl—" He then whacked Teko on the head with his staff, "and a _half_going to find 20 Power Cells?"

"The same places the 'Boy and a half' found them: the villagers and out in the wilds."She muttered to him, "The villagers might not be willing to just give you Power Cells, but greasing their palms with some Precursor Orbs _should _do the trick. And, I'm sure there are even more out in the wilds, just waiting for some _brave adventurer_ to find them."She said, smiling at me the same way she always did. Like a big sister.

"Well, we've got the brave adventurer at least."Teko said, looking at me.

"Brave adventurer?!"Samos asked, "You two couldn't find your way out of the village without training! Before you do_anything_ else, you'd better go through the warp gate and get some practice on Geyser Rock."

"Eh... We won't find any more of that dark, gooey eco stuff, will we?"Teko asked, "'Cause I'd hate to fall in again and turn into _**you**_!" She was looking straight at Samos. I had to try extremely hard not to bust out in a fit of laughter.

"Get in there! Before I turn you _**both**_ into _**ferns**_!"Samos yelled.

I looked at Teko and shrugged before bolting forward and jumping through the warp gate. The next thing I knew, I was standing on Geyser Rock, with Teko popping out of the warp gate behind me after a second. She hopped on my shoulder right before I started running.

A small blue thing with two antennae coming out of it popped up behind me.

"_This device is a communicator, _"Keira said through it.

_No, really? I thought it was a Knilaras cub._ I thought, rolling my eyes.

"_With it, my father and I can give you advice at any time during your quest._"She said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

_Oh, dear Precursors, I hear enough outta him when I'm at the hut!_

Ahead of me I saw a few Precursor Orbs just floating around. How they managed to float is still a mystery to me.

"_These floating egg-shaped orbs are Precursor Orbs,_ "Keira said, "_Collect enough of them and the villagers may give you a Power Cell in exchange._"

_Really? I had no idea. Way to state the obvious, Keira._

I continued forward and took out a few of the fake Lurkers that had been set up around the place. Why there were fake Lurkers and not fake Knilarases is beyond me. Probably because fake Knilarases would've had to have been made of steel. But, I digress.

It kind of bothered me that I wasn't going to get any real practice before leaving for the real world, but I wasn't gonna complain about doing it the easy way at first. Not that I complained anyway. You can't really complain if you can't talk. But that's not exactly the point, and I'm sorry to say, you'll have to try pretty hard to keep me on track for a little while. I'll get into the story a bit better later.

Anyway, I managed to do what I needed to do on Geyser Rock and get back to Samos's hut. The old man greeted us with his usual attitude—annoyance at our appearance.

"And what are you two doing back already?!"He asked.

"Well, we already got all through Geyser Rock, there's nothin' left for us to do there."Teko said timidly.

Neither of us noticed the people sitting in the corner. Well, I faintly did, but I put it out of my mind. It was probably just some villagers, I reasoned.

"Very well." He sounded kind of haggard, like he was already tired of us going on adventures. "Go out and find some power cells, you two. And don't come back until you have them!"

That was all the prompting I needed to turn on my heel and walk briskly out of the hut. I didn't even look to see who was in the hut with us. I honestly didn't care, and I wanted to get away from Samos as quick as I could. I didn't care if he _could_ contact me on the communicator, I still wanted to get as far away from the source of his complaining as soon as I could.

Or, get as far away from him _with_ the source of his complaining. Teko and him don't get along too well. They get along about as well as I get along with Light Eco, but I'll get to _that_ when it's important. Back to the adventure at hand. I needed to find 20 Power Cells, and I had to find them quick.

First stop—my Surrogate Uncle's house.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, here's my newest Fanfic. This one is going to be written on every week, regardless of my schedule. I just have no Writer's Block for this story whatsoever, and not having Writer's Block means I have more to write all the time. I'll still work on what I'm supposed to every week, but this will get updates too.**

**HSAY Muse: So much for that plan.**

**Hey, I'm still sticking to it, I already said so!**

**HSAY: Yeah, because your word means so much to tem.**

**Muse: Rrr! (Translation: Shut up HSAY!)**

**Thank you, Muse. Anyways, Review!**

**(1): Misty Island, but with less mist and more Illusions. Literally just a mile to the west of Misty Island.**


	2. Fire Canyon & Rock Village

**Chapter 2:** Fire Canyon and Rock Village **(Alternate name: Those Damned Eco Collectors!)**

**Chapter Song:** Monster, by Skillet

"_I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin._

_I must confess that I_**_ f_**_**eel l****ike** **a**_**_monster_**_._"

**Mood of the Chapter:** Moderately Annoyed

* * *

My Surrogate Uncle was only a little helpful, demanding 90 Precursor Orbs in exchange for 1 Power Cell, but I managed to scrape some together and pay him for it. He told me the Mayor wanted some help on certain things, so I headed off to see the Mayor.

I won't bore you with the details of _everything_ I did to collect Power Cells and Precursor Orbs, but I will tell you anything I think was important or funny. Essentially, I just went around and did odd jobs, including pushing a Flut-Flut Egg off a cliff for an old Bird Lady, going to the Forbidden Jungle for the Mayor and my own purposes, helping The Fisherman catch 200 pounds of fish (which took forever) thereby gaining access to his boat whenever I wanted it, then going to Misty Island to retrieve the sculptor's Muse. Misty Island is a lot like Myriad Island, but with less illusions and more mist.

_Finally_, a few hours later—it was nearly dusk—, I had collected 20 Power Cells, and I went back to Samos's hut. I could tell before we stepped in that the people that were there earlier were still there. Who were they? I wanted to turn and look, but Samos immediately started yelling at me.

"What are you doing back already?!"He asked, for the second time that day.

"We got the Power Cells!"Teko snapped, obviously having already had her fill of his yelling for the day.

He was silent, due to not being used to her outbursts, since they usually only occurred when I was the only one present. I looked at her and did something that I somehow knew would calm her down. I reached up and rubbed her behind the ears, and almost immediately, her anger disappeared, and she closed her eyes a low sound of contentment falling out of her furry lips.

I rolled my eyes. Of course that would work, she was an Ottsel now, so why not? I removed my hand, and she opened her eyes again, trying to summon a glare for Samos, but not succeeding.

"Well, you need to do one last thing, and since it's going to be dark soon, you should get on it. My darn Green Eco collectors are clogged up again, and I need you to unclog them. NOW GET GOING!"

Teko started seething again, but I petted her and she calmed down. I turned around and walked out, once again forgetting to look at the visitors. I just walked out of the hut and to Sentinel Beach, where I already knew his Eco Collectors were from years of unclogging them and running around up by them.

It was with some annoyance that I quickly punched away the build-up on each of those damned Eco Collectors. I'm pretty sure that the 'build-up' was a rock, because I shattered my knuckles more than once on it when I was younger. Luckily, after I shattered my knuckles, I could just stick my hand into the Green Eco.

I made my way back to Samos's hut right as the suns sank underneath the horizon. I ghosted up the ramp to report back to Samos again, not expecting the visitors to still be there.

They were, but I still didn't get a chance to look at them, because Samos immediately started yelling at us again.

"What in Green Tarnation do you two want now?!"He asked.

Okay, he was starting to get on my nerves at this point. Despite my respect for the man, I levelled one of my darkest glares at him. He blinked and slightly backed away. My body language and my glare seemed to convey my message quite clearly—If he didn't want me to punch him through the Warp Gate behind him, he was going to stop yelling.

"We're gonna go to bed."Teko said, completely unaware of my steady death-glare. "We thought we'd stop in to tell you that we unclogged those damn Eco Collectors of yours."

"Oh... Well, thank you, Izaya. But Teko, when are you going to do something other than sit on her shoulder?!" He was yelling at Teko this time, but it still wasn't okay.

My glare darkened considerably.

"I hate to admit it, but there's not much I _can_ do! I'm two foot tall, fuzzy, and my legs are so stumpy it's not even funny!"She yelled back.

She finally noticed my annoyance and let out a loud huff. "Now, if you don't mind, we're gonna go to bed!"

I turned and walked out of the room, not even caring about the visitors at this point. Teko hopped off my shoulder and started walking down the ramp by herself before she stopped to turn towards me. "You gonna sleep in our room, or are you gonna stay on the roof tonight?"

I motioned upwards, and she nodded. "Well, you know what, I think I'll sleep up there with you. I don't really want to have to sleep alone being this small. Falling outta bed would hurt like hell."

I nodded and kneeled to let her back on my shoulder before I hopped onto the roof and made my way to where I usually ended up sleeping when I was upset or annoyed with Keira or Samos. I laid down, and Teko curled up on my stomach, making herself as comfortable as was possible for the moment.

**x*x*x*x**

I was already awake before the suns started coming up, but Teko was still out cold on my stomach. It was kind of cute, actually, the way she was curled around herself with her face buried in the folds of my shirt.

Eventually, though, I woke her up because I heard someone coming up to the roof. She jumped onto my shoulder and we sat watching the suns come up as the other person reached our level. I looked over, realizing he was one of the visitors. He looked vaguely familiar to me. Blonde/green hair, violet/blue eyes, a red scarf and goggles... He just looked like someone I'd seen before.

"Samos told me to come get you. You're supposed to go through Fire Canyon today."He said, his voice gruff.

I nodded and got up, stretching. I just walked right past him and walked right off the edge of the roof. I heard his startled intake of breath, but I landed before he could say anything and waltzed right into the hut.

I gave Samos my famous, 'Whatcha want?' look, and he lightly smiled, obviously glad that I was back in my usual good mood. Sure, I was still mad that he yelled at us for no reason, but I didn't tend to hold grudges unless I couldn't forgive the person for what they'd done.

"Well, "Samos began, "you have gotten the 20 Precursor Orbs we needed, but if you want to do anything else in Sandover, you'd better do it now, because we won't be back for quite a while."He said.

I thought about it for a second, and remembered something I'd seen on an outcropping of rocks, and 'relayed' my message to Teko to tell Samos. She was the only person who ever knew what I was actually wanting to say.

"Izaya saw something interesting up on a cliff, so we're gonna go check it out and we'll head through Fire Canyon as soon as we're done."Teko told him, and I nodded when he looked to me.

"Alright, but do it quickly. I fear something is going to go wrong again."He said worriedly.

I nodded again and took off out the door at a full sprint. Across the shaky rope and plank bridges, through the village, past the farm, up some large plateaus in the water, and across a dangerous jump to a thin cliff, and I was where I needed to be. I walked up to the large statue that looked like an anteater's head.

"_Who awakens the Oracle?_ ..._Wait! One of you possesses the Dark Powers... From before time, I have watched and waited for the true heroine to present herself... Present to me 120 Precursor Orbs for each Power Cell I contain..._"It said.

I looked at it for a second before counting out 240 Precursor Orbs and handing them to him in a pair of 120 each. And no, counting out 240 Orbs didn't take too long, I have a numbering system built into my 'money bag' that let me know when I had taken out the right amount.

So now I had two more Power Cells, and a burning canyon to fly through. Better get going.

I walked to the edge of the cliff and just hopped off into the water, startling Teko, who squeaked. I just smirked and made sure I landed right, before I started toward the farm and up the many jumps to the entrance of Fire Canyon. To my surprise, all of the visitors were there to see us off.

The man looked so familiar to me... But in a small village like Sandover, everybody knew everybody, and I didn't know this man. On his shoulder now was a small furry Ottsel, much like Teko, but obviously male and orange and red furred, in contrast to Teko's blinding white fur. I had seen him before as well, I was certain of it. It was quite perplexing.

I tried my best to ignore him, and made my way to the zoomer. Keira was standing next to it, smiling.

"Ready to go, Izaya?"She asked.

I nodded. _Ready as I'll ever be._

She smiled larger and motioned to the zoomer. "She's all set up, you just need to get to the other side. Make sure to turn on the Warp Gate at the Blue Sage's hut."

I just climbed atop the zoomer. Then I began to wonder something, I hoped Teko understood the look I gave her.

"Uh, Keira... How much heat can this thing stand without... you know... BLOWING UP?!"She asked for me.

"It can stand up to 500 degrees, any more than that, and it's _over,_ like, burning flesh and fur, molten metal, instant death, _over._"Keira replied. Teko gulped, but Keira kept going, "So, I released some cooling balloons into the canyon to cool you off, so just fly into them and they'll do the rest."

I nodded yet again and got comfortable with the controls before I looked to Teko.

"I'm ready."She replied to my unspoken question.

I grinned and slammed on the accelerator, causing her to squeak in surprise again. We were through the Canyon in under two minutes, and into Rock Village almost a second later. I turned on the Warp Gate before I looked around the hut.

A moment later, Samos popped through the gate after the others and voiced my exact thoughts.

"It looks like the Blue Sage threw a party."He said enviously.

Keira went to the window with the man and his Ottsel, and both of them observed what was going on outside. "Rock Village is on fire!"The yelled together.

"One _heck_ of a party!"Teko and Samos said in perfect union, sharing a look that wasn't annoyed on either side for once.

"No, Rock Village is being bombarded by flaming boulders!"Keira replied, obviously freaking out.

"Again?"The man's Ottsel asked, sounding rather exasperated. "Come on buddy, let's go deal with that."

"No, Dax, that's _their_ job this time around."The man said.

He motioned to us, and 'Dax' looked over. "The scrawny dweeb and the furball? How the hell are they gonna manage to get 40 Power Cells to make that levitator work?"

I wanted to walk over and punch that little brat off his perch, but I held myself back. Teko would object for me and probably do it herself.

"Scrawny dweeb? Buddy, Izaya is probably the strongest person I know, and you're lucky she hasn't knocked you off his shoulder!" She looked at me, "Now, Izaya, I don't know about you, but I feel the need to go find as many Power Cells as we can, just to rub it in his smug little face."She murmured to me.

I smirked and nodded.

Before Keira or Samos could say a word about what we needed to do, I was out the door. Teko and I split up, she decided to help the Geologist and tackle the Precursor Basin, while I went off to talk to the villagers, and hopefully get into the Lost Precursor City, which I already knew about from Samos's yapping. I talked to the 'Warrior', and got him to put the bridge back so I could go there.

It was kind of cool, since it was underwater and you could see outside. But there was a lot of Knilarases and a shit-ton of Dark Eco in part of it. It scared the hell out of me when I saw it. And then I had to run up ramps and launch pads to get away from it so I didn't get _murdered_.

There was even electrified water sometimes, inside the city. And, dude, that stuff hurts like _hell_ when you land in it.

Anyway, when I finished up there, I left and waited across the water from the Boggy Swamp, waiting for Teko. I looked up toward the Blue Sage's hut, and saw the man and 'Dax' standing there watching me. I still felt insulted, so I turned away in a huff. Teko came scampering toward me in that instant.

"All finished? Good, so am I. What're we doin' next?"She asked.

I had noticed the balloon above the swamp, but she didn't appear to have seen it herself. I thrust my thump at it, and raised an eyebrow to ask if she was ready to get going yet.

"The swamp?"She asked, wrinkling her nose. "Well, it beats herding blind moles into their holes."She said, shrugging.

I kneeled so she could get on my shoulder, and she did so without argument. It was probably easier to her than running around by herself. Letting her sit there made me feel almost complete, like it was something I was meant to do. I brushed it off and hopped across the pontoons to the Swamp.

They sank as soon as I put weight on them, but in the last couple of hours, I had crossing them down to a simple art. Teko squeaked slightly when the first one sank, but soon figured out that I wasn't going to let her fall into the water.

The swamp was pretty damn boring, if you ask me. I just fended off some rats, cut the ropes on the Lurker balloon, and rode the Flut-Flut across some of it. Pretty uneventful except for the ambush, but that was pretty boring too, since I was used to killing Knilarases, and most of the ambushers were Lurkers, who, as I've said before are considerably weaker and dumber than Knilarases.

We made our way back to the Blue Sages hut to alert Samos and Keira that we had the Power Cells we needed. Our guests still hadn't left, and I assumed they weren't going to. But I couldn't help but sneer at Dax when he looked at me. Funny thing is, he didn't say anything. He just looked impressed.

"Good work, Izaya...Teko. Now, if you need to take a rest after that, I understand. You shouldn't have to fight Klaww so soon."Samos said.

Teko looked to me. "You tired?"She asked.

My face dead-panned and I looked over at her.

"I'll take that as a no." She looked to Samos, "No, we're good."

"Okay! I'll go start up the Levitator, you meet me there when you're ready to fight Klaww!"Keira said, sprinting out of the hut.

"...I've never seen Keira run. At all."Teko said, looking to me. "She must really be excited about that Levitator."

I shrugged, practically radiating the word 'maybe'. But then my demeanour changed, and I looked at her.

"Yeah, I'm ready."She said in response the question only she had understood.

I turned and started to walk out the door to follow Keira, but a voice stopped me. It was the man. Well, to be more accurate, the blonde man. There was a brunette man too. And there was a red-headed woman too. Both of them had dreads. But the blonde was the one who had spoken.

"Wait... Izaya, are you sure you don't need to take a rest? You've got some pretty bad scorch marks."

I turned, eyebrow quirked.

"Scorch marks?"Teko asked, examining me.

"On her arms and legs."He said.

I looked for myself, and sure enough, there they were, the scorch marks he had spoken of. They _did_ look pretty bad, but they obviously weren't slowing me down, so I figured I could do without a rest. Besides, a bit of Green Eco would clear them right up.

I shook my head and started walking again. I had been pumped with adrenaline, and it was starting to fade, I could feel it. A pain shot through my side and my arms and legs. I let out a small cry of pain, dropping to my knees and clutching my side.

If I could've spoken, I would've been uttering an endless stream of profanities. I was sure as hell thinking them.

"Izaya! Are you alright? What's wrong?" Teko started freaking out.

I just shook my head, stood up again, one hand still tightly clutching the source of most of my pain, that in my limbs was already fading. I turned toward the others, removed my hand from my side and drew up my hand. It was covered in blood.

_One of those buggers got me! How the bloody hell did I not notice that?_ I asked myself.

"Dude! One of the Lurkers got you! Are you sure you're okay?"Teko asked.

I shot her an annoyed glance before looking straight at Samos. He was already on his way toward me.

"How did you not notice that?"He asked me.

I shook my head and shrugged at the same time. I had no idea how I hadn't noticed a four inch gash on my right side, it was kind of obvious.

"You shouldn't go and fight Klaww yet, Izaya, not with this. Even if I heal it for you, it will still hurt quite a bit."Samos said.

The look on my face was fierce, I knew it. Samos was busy healing my side, but I was fuming. There was absolutely no way in hell that I was going to sit back and relax when this world obviously needed saving.

When he'd finished, he saw the look on my face, and immediately understood what I wanted to say.

"Izaya, no arguing, you're not fighting Klaww yet and that's final!"He snapped.

If I would've been anyone else, I probably would've stamped my foot in outrage, but I didn't, I just levelled a steady glare at him, putting a whole lot of effort into making myself clear. He was _not_ going to keep me from fighting. I would sneak out of the house when he wasn't watching if need be!

"Izaya, I know you're tough, and that fighting is what you tend to do best, but trust me, you make one wrong move, and that gash will shoot the worst pain you've ever felt through your entire body. You'll die if you fight Klaww while you're injured."Samos said, not relenting.

Memories flashed through my head of my previous injuries. I was reminded of how much each of them had hurt, but I hadn't ever even complained about them, even in my own mind, I just took the pain, sucked it up, and kept doing what I was doing.

Teko could tell what I was thinking. "Izaya can handle pain, Old Man! You obviously have no idea how many times she's gotten hurt and not even stopped to nurse the wounds because she was so determined to finish what she was doing! She's never once gotten a wound that was bad enough to make her stop what she was doing, and I'm with her on this. You're not gonna keep us from fighting, no way, no how! This world is in danger, and I'm not just gonna sit back and do nothing to save it!"

Samos didn't back off though. He still demanded that I stay, but when I looked him right in the eyes and growled at him, he gave up.

"Alright, Izaya! Go get yourself killed! But don't say I didn't try to stop you!"He snapped.

I then did something I never would've done otherwise—I flipped Samos off. I then turned around and walked out of the hut to talk to Keira. I was going to fight, no matter how many objections I got. Nothing could stop me when I got my mind set on something.

And right then, I was hell-bent on fighting and defeating Klaww.

* * *

**Reviewer Corner**

**Chickyoudontknow: Yeah, I lurves me some Jak and Daxter. And, no, I haven't played the games. Well, I beat the Precursor Legacy like 40 times, and got halfway through the story of Combat Racing, but I had no idea what was going on in that one. But that wasn't a stupid question to ask, there's no such thing as a stupid question by my standards. Except for the question 'Are you ever going to update this'. Because that is a given unless I discontinue a story. But I'm ranting, so, yeah...**

* * *

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review! And yes, Izaya and Samos did need to have that argument, it was absolutely necessary.**


	3. Fiery Lurkers & Racing Against Time

**Chapter 3:** Fiery Lurkers and Racing Against Time

**Chapter Song:** Demons, by Imagine Dragons

"_When you feel my heat, look into my eyes._

_It's where my demon's hide, **it's where my demons hide**._"

**Mood of the Chapter:** Bosstastic

* * *

Klaww wasn't exactly the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen, but he definitely wasn't a basket of crocodog puppies either. He was just about as scary as an angry wumpbee, but Teko didn't share my sentiments.

"Holy Precursors! That thing is _uuuugly!_"She said. Klaw roared in response. "And _scary_!"

I rolled my eyes and walked out onto the rock, barely flinching at the sudden rise in temperature. Teko wiped her brow and looked down at me. She seemed shocked that I wasn't bothered even in the slightest.

"Dude, aren't you hot?"She asked.

I shook my head.

She snorted. "Of course not."She muttered, "Shoulda known."

I kept going, barely dodging the first flaming boulder he threw at me. I saw a cluster of Yellow Eco ahead of me, across a rather large lake of lava, and a cluster of Blue Eco a bit closer, between the lava and myself.

Had I been given the chance, I would've picked up the Blue Eco and tried to run across the lava as fast as I could. It's probably a good thing I didn't get that chance. Another flaming boulder was thrown at me, and I had to dodge before I could get the Blue Eco.

I managed to hop across some barely-there rocks and grab the Yellow Eco, though, and shot the giant a few times before he tossed yet another boulder at me.

I looked back when I heard 'Dax' say, "Well, that thing definitely ain't as stupid as last time."

_Last time?_ I asked myself. I shot it a few more times, and this time he dropped the boulder on his own head, it hit the rock I was on, jolting but not hitting me, and rolled toward Keira, the visitors, and the rest of Rock Village, who had come to watch. While he stood there, dazed, I shot him quite a few more times, but then he snapped out of it and hit the rock with his fist, causing me to get knocked off and almost land in the lava. I barely caught myself on a rock and vaulted backwards onto a larger one.

Teko could clearly see my annoyance already forming and said, "Hey, dude, calm down. This ain't just any 'ol lurker! This guy's been here for centuries, probably gettin' his ass beat every single time somebody passes through. He's gonna be tougher than most, it's common sense!"She said.

I nodded, if only to show I was listening. I was trying to figure a way to get him out of the way for good, and in the next few minutes. My eyes flickered around from where I was still crouched defensively. Klaww didn't seem to see me, as he looked around frantically. If only I could get over there and grab that Yellow Eco fast enough for him not to see me until I was standing here and shooting him.

That gave me an idea.

I reached up and nudged Teko. I pointed to the Yellow Eco and handed her a jar that I carried around specifically for the purpose of collecting and storing Eco in case I needed it.

"You want _me_ to get that?"She asked, "Well, I guess I can move a little faster than you, and he wouldn't notice me, since I'm so tiny..."

She took the jar and shot off my shoulder. She moved quickly across small rocks I couldn't even touch before scooping up both clusters of Yellow Eco and bolting back to me. I put a single finger into the Eco, letting some of it be absorbed before putting the jar down and standing.

Klaww still didn't see me, as he was looking forward intently. I decided I was going to fix that. I began shooting him in rapid succession, causing him to look over at me and try to throw a boulder at me, but I ducked. It smashed into the front of the rock and completely missed me.

I stood again and we went in a cycle until he started to fall back into the lava. I scooped up a much larger amount of Eco and shot the biggest fireball I could make at him. It smashed into his cracked chest-plate, and he squealed before disappearing in a puff of Dark Eco.

I started to relax, but when the lava behind me started to move, my immediate reaction was to jump from the rock and onto the main rock walkway. I rolled and turned to see what was there. Lava sprayed everywhere as the largest flying Metal Head I'd ever seen flew out of the 'lake'.

Teko gulped, and I just backed up. It started dive-bombing me, pushing me back toward the villagers.

"Izaya, here!"The man yelled.

I spun around to look, trying to keep one eye on the Metal Head while it reared back for another attack. The man was throwing me a gun. I caught it, nodding in thanks.

I spun around again, immediately firing at the Metal Head, who by now I had started calling Naerdial. Naerdial swooped at me again and again, despite the fact that I was literally pumping her full of bullets. I barely managed to dodge, but took the opportunity provided by Naerdial's impact. Obviously, the Metal Head was finding it hard to get up.

I was once again standing on the platform with Yellow Eco. I stored one of the clusters in my jar and picked up the other one to blast Naerdial with another rather large fireball. The Skull Gem popped from its head, and Naerdial soon followed Klaww in exploding into Dark Eco.

And strangely enough, as Naerdial disappeared, the lava started to go down and disappear. The heat that had enveloped Teko and myself quickly receded with it. I walked calmly across the now visible and already—somehow—cooled ground, meeting Keira, the man and 'Dax' in the middle.

I handed the man his gun, making sure my expression conveyed as much of my gratitude as possible. He smiled at me, which surprised me, since he didn't seem the smiling type.

"No problem."

He'd understood me, which shocked me even more. I smiled back, half unsure. But besides him understanding, something was bothering me. My smile dropped and I looked at Teko, asking her to translate.

"So... 'Dax', was it? What were you talkin' about earlier?"She asked, casually.

"Uhm... It's Daxter, and I don't know what you mean, sweet cheeks."

Sweet cheeks? I wanted to strangle that guy.

"Oh, yes you do. Right in the middle of our fight with Klaww... You said something about him not being as stupid as _last time_."She gave him a pointed look before adding, "And don't call me sweet cheeks, you pompous little brat. Not only do I consider it inappropriate, but Izaya is probably ready to strangle you."

Took the words right out of my mouth, the little rascal. Keira shifted uneasily and the man looked away. Daxter just gulped and looked to the man for help.

"Uh, I think you might've misheard him, Izaya."Keira said, "Either that or Daxter was probably talking about my dad. They've never gotten along well, right, Jak?"

Jak nodded to confirm her story, but I wasn't buying it. My immediate response seemed to startle them. I let my face slip into a deadpan and put one hand on my hip. I couldn't talk, but I could make some funny little noises.

"Mmmhmm."

Teko elaborated, "Like we're gunna believe that, Keira. Samos isn't stupid, and even I, who hate him most, don't say he is. Besides, we know what we heard, and that tone did not sound like someone who was talking about an old man. He sounded scared, not condescending."

For some reason, that made Keira snap.

"Why don't you just forget about it?! He obviously wasn't talking to you, so it doesn't matter!"

Teko didn't even make a move to respond, because almost as soon as the words left her mouth, I punched Keira in the face. She recoiled, holding her cheek.

I turned and stalked toward the trans-pad on which the zoomer was now parked. Teko hopped off my shoulder when I turned around.

"Get back here!"Keira snapped at me, but I just kept walking.

"Shut the hell up, Keira. You've pissed her off enough already"Teko growled, "You're lucky she only punched you. Besides, she just fought a really big Lurker and a Metal Head on top of that. Just let her cool off a little. She'll apologize later."

I was sitting on the zoomer glaring into the distance, still fuming, but the remark caused me to snort loudly.

_As if_. I remarked mentally.

I flicked a glance at them, and they were all staring at me. Teko was walking toward me and she hopped up on my shoulder again.

"You'll feel different about that later, Izaya."She said before yanking down her goggles

I snorted again before pulling my own goggles over my eyes. I revved the engine and took off, much to the obvious shock of the others.

"Well, she's definitely a speed demon." I heard Jak remark.

Before I knew it, I was racing a flying Knilaras through the Mountain Pass. I didn't know why at the time, I just was. When I finally got to the other end, I ran right smack into another Knilaras, which surprisingly didn't damage the zoomer at all.

Of course, the impact absolutely slaughtered the Knilaras, but I noticed a large amount of explosives set up. I gulped when I realized why I'd been racing that Knilaras. That had actually been a very close call. My foot rested on the ground, the zoomer leaned slightly to the side. I shook my head and gunned the engine again, leaving the Pass and entering the Volcanic Crater.

Teko began to complain about there being so much lava everywhere we went, only ceasing when we entered the Red Sage's hut to find evidence of a struggle. The Red Sage was nowhere to be found. I raised an eyebrow before lightly stomping on the switch for the Warp Gate.

Everyone popped through, Samos complaining about Warp Gates. I was used to it, so I didn't listen.

I was too busy wondering when I'd see Gol and Maia so they could change my buddy back to normal.

* * *

**Reviewer Corner**

**Chickyoudontknow: Well, it's simple, really. I just watched walkthroughs on the internet. I'll have to do that again or read a wiki when I get to them to write them though. Glad you like it.**

**Guest: Well, thanks. Yeah, it's essentially just TPL at first, but I'm trying to deviate it as much as I can so it's not a complete rip off of TPL, as you probably saw this chapter. Glad you like it, though!**

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**A/N: Here's the third chapter. Izaya fights Klaww and the giant Metal Head who I call ****Naerdiel, which means 'lady of sorrows'. Yup, female Metal Head, and she might be coming back. I'm not sure, I'll be counting on you to vote on that. Review for that, review if you love it, review if you hate it. Just review, I don't care why. Of course, flames will be fed to Klaww and Naerdiel.  
**


	4. Spiders & Some Metal Heads

**Chapter 4:** Spiders And Some Metal Heads

**Chapter Song:** Bump In The Night, by Allstars

"_They're out to get you, to capture you and make you... Spell bound._

_Howling and prowling, **you're shivering, quivering...** Spell bound._"

**Mood of the Chapter:** Excited and fearful

* * *

"Has anyone told her it's hopeless to go looking for help from Gol?"Daxter asked quietly.

"No. Daddy thinks Gol might have learned his lesson last time. But even if he hasn't, Izaya more than stands a chance. I mean, this is the girl who can get through Fire Canyon in a minute and two seconds. The girl who can clear out an entire swamp's worth of Lurkers, get hurt, and _still_ have enough energy to fight Klaww and that Metal Head. I don't think she'd really even break a sweat fighting Gol, after everything she's already done."Keira said.

I managed to raise my eyebrow at her. _She's overestimating me, **big time**._

I gulped and looked away. I made sure not to let Teko say anything to them, even going so far as to put my hand over her mouth. They raised their eyebrows at me, but I played it like I was still mad and glared at them.

Teko seemed to realize that I didn't want her saying anything about it, so she didn't try again. Keira attempted to talk to me, but my response was to walk over to Samos.

"So, what we gotta do here, Green Stuff?"Teko asked for me.

"You need to get more Power Cells and Precursor Orbs. So go clear out the Spider Caves!" He hit his staff against the floor to punctuate.

Teko shuddered, "Spiders? Aw… Those things are bigger than am now!"

I chuckled. The poor thing, being smaller than most creatures we fought. I could understand her fear of them, now that she was barely two feet tall.

"It's not funny!"She exclaimed.

"Yeah, those things are scary! I've been up close to 'em!"Daxter agreed.

"I still don't like you very much, but thanks for the agreement."

_'Oh, come on… If you don't wanna go, you don't have to!'_

"I know I don't _have_ to go, but I don't wanna make you go in there by yourself!"

Jak and Daxter were staring at us. Keira came to the rescue.

"Those two have known each other so long that Teko can actually act as her translator, much like Pecker does for Onin."She explained.

I had absolutely no idea who 'Pecker' and 'Onin' were, but Jak and Daxter seemed to understand now.

"Well, if Teko is worried about letting Izaya go alone, I could go with her."Jak suggested.

"Or all four of us could go."Teko said on my behalf.

Jak and Daxter considered it for a moment before they both nodded.

"Sounds good."

And so we left the hut with me in the lead. Teko screamed the first time I jumped onto one of the mine carts, but I barely even slipped on it. When we got around to the cave, I hopped off and only waited for a second before taking off into the cave. I heard Jak behind me, trying to keep up.

The trip through Spider Cave was actually relatively uneventful. We cleared out some spiders, and some Lurkers. I had to teach Jak how to take out a Knilaras, since they were the main enemy in the cave, despite the name.

He seemed shocked that I actually knew what I was doing which slightly insulted me. But I let it go and got to work murdering some spiders.

By the time we got done, it was well after dark and Teko was on her last leg. I can't really blame her, considering how close she accidentally got to most of them. She's always been scared to death of spiders, though I can't understand what's so scary about eight legs, a few eyes, and some pincers.

We entered the Red Sage's hut, and Jak, Daxter, and Teko all went to lay down—or sit against the wall, in Jak's case. All three of them looked half asleep, but I was still wide awake. Samos, despite not being able to fully interpret everything I wanted to say, could easily tell I wanted something else to do, but on my own for a while.

"Izaya, you seem awake enough..."He said, which caused the other three to wearily look over.

I was still standing next to the door, foot tapping lightly against the floor. Jak seemed almost proud of me, and both Teko and Daxter looked shocked at me. My response was to look him in the eye and nod cautiously.

"I received word from Sandover of a task you might want to take. Go to the Mayor, he'll give you the details."

Teko started to get up, but Samos noticed, "No, Teko, you don't need to accompany her. She will be able to accomplish this on her own."

Teko looked worried but laid back down regardless. She watched me carefully. I smiled and nodded at her.

I walked past them and hopped through the Warp Gate. The much more familiar surroundings of Samos' hut made me feel a bit more tired, but I ignored it and took off toward the Mayor's house. Now, the Mayor and I didn't tend to get along too well, but he was often a great source of 'income' for myself and for Keira.

I walked into his hut to get my instructions, and as soon as I entered, he started talking.

"Oh, Izaya, there you are! Now, Samos most likely told you that I have a mission for you, and he wouldn't have been lying. There's been a string of Metal Head attacks to the outer parts of the village, and I need someone to clear them out. I'll give you a Power Cell if you manage to kill them all."

He had been rambling, but I somehow managed to catch all of it. He handed me a gun.

"You'll also be needing this. Even you can't take out that many Metal Heads with your bare hands."

I nodded. I was on my way to the outskirts a few seconds later, passing a fleeing sculptor and Muse on the way. I paid them little mind, just making my way to the sounds of houses being torn apart.

I took the first shot before I was really even within eyeshot of the monstrosities, but I managed to catch one with it. With that one down, the rest of them came charging toward me, following the path of the gunfire. I continued to kill them off as quickly as I could without getting caught by the rare flying one that would come along. It was hard to dodge both the ones on land and the ones in the air, but eventually I had completely cleaned out the infestation.

_Looks like I get another Power Cell._ I cheered myself on. But just to make sure I got them all, I walked around the ruined houses, looking inside them as well as to make sure I hadn't missed any. And I was glad I had. Among the wreckage of one of the huts I found a child.

He was very quiet, and seemed to be trying his best not to make a sound. But the poor thing was crying his eyes out. I cleared away some boards, and he grew still, staring up at me in fear. When he realized that I wasn't a Metal Head, but a human, he relaxed, but kept crying.

I wanted to comfort him, but my vocal chords were still being stubborn, as they had been for years now. Not a word would come out of my mouth. I reached down to pick him up, and he flinched. I flinched as well, knowing I had scared him. I continued to reach for him though, and when I managed to get him into my arms, he was shaking like a rickety bridge under the weight of Klaww.

I rubbed his back in silence. The poor thing, he couldn't be more than three, and yet he was already scarred for life. I made my way back to the Mayor's house, setting the boy down outside. I gave him a look I hoped he understood, which he seemed to. He didn't move from the spot I sat him down.

I walked into the Mayor's house and presented him with the Skull Gems of all the Metal Heads. He seemed impressed.

"Here's your Power Cell." He said, handing it to me, "And go ahead and keep the gun. You're more handy with it than I am."

I nodded my thanks and left. He hadn't even wanted the Skull Gems except to know that I'd killed every single one of the Metal Heads. I could get a lot of Skull Gems in one go, and quite a few people were more than willing to pay quite a hefty sum to be in possession of even one Skull Gem.

I smiled at the child when I got outside and picked him up. I headed back up to Samos' hut and jumped through the warp gate. The child immediately clung to me, scared, but I just patted him on the back. When I came out in the Red Sage's hut, Jak, Daxter, the man, the woman, Samos, and Keira all looked up. Teko was busy being asleep on the ground. I rolled my eyes to the child, and he laughed.

"Where'd you find a kid?"Daxter asked.

"..." I gave him a pointed look.

"Oh, sorry. Forgot you couldn't talk."He said, smacking his head against his palm.

I rolled my eyes again and handed the kid to Samos, much to his surprise.

"What do you want me to do with him?"He asked.

I shrugged. _Man, not being able to talk sucks in situations like this._ I sighed quietly, walked past everyone, and headed up to the roof of the hut. I heard Jak ask me where I was going, but of course he wouldn't get an answer. Seriously, were these people stupid? But then again, Jak, like Teko, could understand me, so he probably expected me to turn around and look at him. I didn't have to make giant hand motions and sigh to make them understand what I wanted to say, I just had to give them a look.

I still didn't even give him any semblance of an answer though, and took my refuge on the roof to sleep. I'd probably have to go up to Snowy Mountain in the morning. But before I could even get close to falling asleep, Jak appeared on the roof, causing me to sigh and glare at him.

He put his hands up, "I just wanted to ask if you were alright. You've got more than a few scratches."He said, "And I wanted to ask about that gun."

I looked to examine my scratches and shrugged, but looked at him and pointed to one of the scratches, then down below me in the general direction of Samos.

"...Yes, you're fine, and you got the scratches and the gun from the mission Samos told you about?"He asked, obviously hoping it was an accurate translation.

I nodded. _Close enough._ I then gave him a very pointed look.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you wanna go to sleep, but there are beds down there."He said, pointing downward.

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"You really wanna stay up here?" He sounded disbelieving.

I nodded.

He raised an eyebrow, but shrugged anyway. "Okay. Your choice." He jumped off the roof without another word.

I rolled my eyes yet again and resigned myself to sleep.

**x*x*x*x**

When I woke up, it was to Daxter's frantic screeching down below. There was also a voice I didn't recognize, which was probably the brunette, yelling back at him. After a minute I heard Jak's voice break into the argument.

"Guys, shut up! Izaya is still asleep, and from what I've seen she's very easily annoyed. Do you want her to wake up in a bad mood?"

_How considerate... Unfortunately, you're little to late there, Goldie-locks. I'm already awake and in a bad mood._

And, to my surprise, instead of listening to Jak, the two of them just went right back at it. That was unexpected. So I got up, hopped off the roof and leaned in the door frame. Daxter and the brunette were too busy arguing to notice my arrival, but the redhead, Jak, and Keira all noticed. I put on my best glare and stalked in. Those two were practically at each other's necks, which made my goal much easier.

I grabbed both of them by the neck and tossed them to opposite ends of the room. When they looked up to see who had done it, I was standing there, turning my glare between both of them. Daxter gulped, but the brunette didn't seem intimidated, he got up and walked right up to me.

He got right in my face, which prompted Keira to look worried, though about which of us I'm not sure.

"You got a problem, girly?" He asked harshly.

My response? I punched him. The force of it—a force I'm only capable of when I'm upset—sent him flying into the wall on the other side of the room. My eye twitched, and Teko approached me from the corner.

"Woah, calm down buddy. I know they woke you up a little too early for your personal liking, but you don't need to kick their asses just for that." She said. "Torn deserved that, though. He challenged you." She added as an afterthought.

_So the brunette's name is Torn? Weird name, but hey, Izaya's a weird name too._

I just grunted before rubbing the side of my head and turning to walk away.

"Not so fast, Izaya. Since you're up, I have an assignment for you and Teko." Samos said.

I turned around and looked at him, my anger having faded into something more akin to slight annoyance. I looked him right in the eyes. It was my famous, "_Whatcha want?_" look.

"I need you two to clear out Snowy Mountain."

* * *

**Reviewer Corner**

**Fiery Death: You know, surprisingly, I've already had someone say something about it just being TPL at first. They facepalmed when they noticed. I feel sorry for whatever hardback book almost witnessed your forehead's wrath. Oh, and yes, Izaya ends up being able to talk, but that won't happen until the sequel. Stay tuned for that. (No spoilers, yay!)**

**Son of Death & Daughter of Death: Thanks, both of you. Also, supercalifragilisticexpialidosciouslyamazing is the best complement I've ever gotten. I know the feeling of not wanting a profile. It wasn't until my Muse showed up on my doorstep that I started writing and got a profile.**

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**A/N: Izaya finds a behbeh! Not sure who it is (lies!), but they seem to have a strange affinity with Izaya's hair. But how that baby got there is a mystery, since he's kind of out of his timeline.****  
**


	5. Snowy Mountain & Meeting Gol and Maia

**Chapter 4:** Snowy Mountain and Meeting Gol and Maia

**Chapter Song:** The Phoenix, by Fall Out Boy

"_So we can take the world back from the heart-attacked._

_**One maniac at a time** we will take it back._"

**Mood of the Chapter:** Cold and very pissed off

* * *

I'll admit, being sent up to Snowy Mountain right after I woke up did _not_ improve my mood whatsoever, but the cold gave me an excuse to be consecutively pissed for the rest of the day. But that's beside the point. I was absolutely seething by the time we got into the gondola, but Teko was doing her best to calm me down.

"Oh, come on, Izaya. Heat doesn't bother you, but cold does? I don't understand you sometimes, buddy." Teko said, shaking her head.

I just grunted again and tried to ignore the looks I was getting from everyone else. When Keira finally let us go, I _almost_ relaxed. But then I got a blast of cold air that made me wish I had a warmer outfit. A tank-top isn't exactly the best thing to wear when it's _that_ cold.

But I would just have to rough it, since no one else was crazy enough to go up there, and from what I could tell, Jak and Daxter weren't too keen on going up there a second time. They still hadn't told us why they'd already done most of the stuff we had, or what they'd been talking about when they said getting help from Gol would be hopeless.

But either way, I was stuck going up to Snowy Mountain in a tank-top and jeans. I was _not_ happy. At all.

Of course, this did help me quite a bit up there. I moved a hell of a lot faster and hit the few Knilarases and Lurkers that were up there a hell of a lot harder. They didn't stand a chance against a cold and angry Izaya, as they soon figured out. They were much more wary of approaching me after they witnessed me take out some of their ranks without much of a problem.

I did what I needed to do up there before I decided to get some therapeutic value out of the sheer amount of enemies. Despite being wary of approaching me, they didn't back down when _I_ approached _them_. I was feeling much better when we made our way back down to the hut, though I was still rather upset and frozen.

Samos let me thaw out before he asked me to do anything else.

"Now that you've got that done, Izaya, take this child to the Geographer in Rock Village. She'll know what to do." He said.

I pushed away from the wall I was leaning on and took the child from him.

"Yeah, and while we're at it, Izaya can beat that one dude's record in the Gorge. It would net us another Power Cell, which we can never have too many of." Teko said.

"_Why do I have to beat the record_?"

"Because you fly better than I do. And you're definitely much less cautious about using the throttle."

I considered that before I shrugged and hopped through the Warp Gate. I located the Geographer, Teko told her that Samos told us to take her the baby, and she took him from me. He had been playing with my hair the whole way there.

"You know, that kid seemed to like your hair a lot. I mean, yeah, it's long and _really_ soft, but not enough to warrant messing with it the entire time." Teko remarked as we walked off toward the guy in a barrel to see about the record.

"Yeah, he set the record three years ago, and no one's been able to beat it. If you can, I'll give you a Power Cell."

"Okay, sounds good to us." Teko said.

So we went to the Precursor Basin, got on the Zoomer, and rode out to 'Dead Man's Gorge'. As soon as the timer started, I took off. When I got to the end of the course a small time later, loud trumpets went off. Apparently I had beaten the time, because I also heard cheers from a ways away. I shared a look with Teko before taking off and talking to the guy again.

"Great job, kid! Here's your Power Cell."

I nodded my thanks and we headed back up to the hut, through the Warp Gate, and into the Red Sage's Hut. Right as I popped out, the man and woman I'd seen on Myriad Island appeared _out of nowhere_. Literally, they just... popped up out of thin air.

"Ah, there's the little brat that's been destroying our Knilarases." The woman said.

_Oh chizz..._ Was the only thought going through my head when she said that.

"Yes, it would appear so, sister... Shall we teach her a lesson?" The man asked.

I looked around quickly, but the others weren't there. They were nowhere to be found, and I was all alone with Teko, two psychos, and an old, beat up gun. This was not going to be fun.

Teko, to her credit, didn't jump off my shoulder to hide, she just sat there. I wondered why until I looked at her. She was frozen in fear. Completely still for once in her life. She was staring at the two people in front of us, and I returned my own gaze to them.

Both of them had large balls of purple energy in their hands and they were aiming them at me. I reached up and grabbed Teko. She looked to me, right as I gave her an apologetic look and tossed her through the Warp Gate. I hit the switch again, causing it to rise up and the Warp Gate to shut off. If I was going to die, she wasn't going to have to watch.

"Oh, how noble of you, keeping your pet safe." The woman said condescendingly.

I wanted to tell her that Teko wasn't my 'pet', but I couldn't, for obvious reasons. I just glared at her and grabbed my gun. I was going to go down swinging, if I went down, that is.

They both laughed but I let out a volley of shots right as they released those balls of energy. Neither of their shots hit home, but all of mine did, surprisingly. Most of them hit the woman, and when I finally ceased firing, they just glared at me.

"Very well, girl. You'll live for now, but we'll be waiting for you." The man said.

"Come on, Gol. We need to get to the Citadel and prepare to unleash the Dark Eco." The woman said.

They left and I could only stare at where they'd been. "_Come on, Gol._" That had been Gol and Maia, the two I needed if I was going to help Teko. So _that _was why Daxter said it'd be useless... At some point during my thoughts, I pressed the button on the Warp Gate, but I don't remember doing it. I just remember Jak jumping through and landing next to me.

"Izaya! Izaya, are you alright?" He asked.

I barely managed to nod before I collapsed on to the ground. Daxter hopped off Jak's shoulder and got right in my face.

"You sure about that, sweet cheeks?" He asked.

As soon as he finished the sentence, Teko jumped through and joined him. After her came everyone else.

I still managed to nod at Daxter, but I was really out of it. My only chance to save Teko was a total bust. I was absolutely devastated. Samos approached me and shooed the two Ottsels away.

"Izaya, what happened?"

"Gol and Maia happened..." I was slightly startled at myself when I answered him. It came out quiet and raspy, barely there, but he heard me.

He stared at me before he nodded slowly. "Can you explain to me what happened?"

"They attacked...me..." Though I had gotten my vocal chords to work, they were quickly going back to being useless.

He seemed to realize this though, and didn't ask me another question that didn't need a 'yes' or 'no' answer. "And they left afterwards?"

I nodded.

"Did you get hurt?"

No.

"Okay, then I guess you're just in shock from finding out who they were, right?"

Yes.

"I'm sure you'll find another way to change Teko back, Izaya. Don't worry, you'll figure something out, I know you will."

Teko spoke up then, "You know what? I don't mind being an Ottsel all that much. Even though Gol and Maia were a bust, I really don't care."

I looked to her and smiled weakly. "_You're a real trooper_."

She smiled back. "Thanks. But I'm serious. I'm already used to this, and it's _really_ comfortable."

I chuckled before standing up and shaking my head.

"Yeah, I know I'm a goofball. I do it on purpose. Who else can make you laugh when you're pissed as hell?"

Good old Teko, keeping me in a good mood, as usual. I turned to Samos, raising an eyebrow.

"You really still want to go up there?" He asked in disbelief.

I nodded.

"She wants to teach them a lesson. 'You don't just attack me and get off scot free!' is what she's saying." Teko stopped for a second, "And Maia said I was her 'pet', so that leaves me wanting some payback."

"Oh, alright. Keira, get the Zoomer ready for going through the Lava Tube."

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**Reviewer Corner**

**Fiery Death: Hey. Yeah, she does. Yeah, I thought that might be a problem, but I wanted to stick to the 'main character no-talky in the first one' thing. And actually, I don't, not really. I just update whenever, and sometimes that can get pretty erratic. But in the next couple of months before school rolls back around, that's for sure. The sequel will likely get neglected when it rolls around, at least for a little while, until I can free myself of homework. But thanks for reading! I really appreciate having people review on this, and my other stories.**

**Chicusortano: I'm assuming you are Chickyoudontknow, but you changed your name because we are sort of internet friends now? You can answer me some other time of course. I'm sorry that I can't answer a lot of your questions, because that would mean spoilers. It should only be another 3 or 4 chapters. There may be more than that, depending on how much of the in-between time between the first and second stories I want to cover in this one and how much I want to cover in the second. But yeah, 3 to 4. Maybe 5 to 7, if I cover a lot of the in-between stuff.**

**Daughter of Death: Hello again, friend. You don't know what 'Deadly vu' means? Have you never seen the Beetlejuice cartoon? I'm assuming your brother has, at least. It's Lydia's catchphrase, anyway, so it basically just means 'cool' or 'awesome', but it sounds cooler. And there's nothing wrong with hijacking someone's name for a little while, as long as they know you weren't buying porn or something with their credit card.**

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**A/N: Izaya manages to say something for the first time, but it's the only time it'll happen in this story. She's supposed to be mute, remember? Hope you enjoyed this chapter of Izaya and Teko: The Dark Eco Legacy!****  
**


	6. Lava Tube & Racing Jak

**Chapter 4:** Lava Tube and Racing Jak

**Chapter Song:** My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark, by Fall Out Boy  


"_Be careful making wishes in the Dark._

_ You can't be sure where they'll hit their mark._"

**Mood of the Chapter:** Warm and Amused

* * *

Going through the Lava Tube definitely improved my mood, because for some odd reason I'm drawn to heat. Might be because I _really_ hate being cold, but who knows.

Keira also managed to produce a second Zoomer seemingly out of nowhere and told Jak and Daxter to follow us to make sure we made it. If my vocal chords would've still been working then, I would've made some sort of crack about her confidence in me. But, alas, they weren't, so I settled for rolling my eyes.

"Oh, don't roll your eyes at me, Izaya. I trust you, but I know you might need help every now and again. Teko seems to think I've been overestimating you."

I gave Teko a betrayed look.

"Hey, you never told me I couldn't tell her you thought she was overestimating you."

I grunted before rolling my eyes again. I went ahead and hit the throttle and took off through the tube, much to Jak's annoyance. I heard him yell something at me that I won't bother repeating, since I really don't think it's important. He managed to catch up with me halfway through.

"No wonder you managed to beat my record in Dead Man's Gorge. You really aren't shy about using the throttle."

I just grinned and shook my head.

"That was _your_ record?" Teko asked, looking shocked. When he nodded, she added, "Holy crap! I thought _I_ could drive fast until I found your record!"

He chuckled. "Yeah... My driving used to scared the hell out of Daxter. He always thought I was going to accidentally crash and kill both of us. It took him a few years to get used to riding behind me on a Zoomer..." He trailed off for a second, "And then a few more weeks to get used to riding on my shoulder."

I realized that Daxter must've been just like Teko, and that was why they had already done almost everything we had. I frowned slightly, which they noticed.

"You figured it out then, huh?" Daxter asked, smiling bitterly.

I nodded.

"...She feels sorry for you." Teko said, reading me easily.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I've gotten plenty of chances to change back, but then who would stick around with Jak when he does something stupid?"

I smiled one of those barely-there smiles I was relatively famous for before casting Jak a challenging look. We had stopped in a relatively cool room, and our gages didn't go up when we did.

"Oh, you're on, Izaya." Was his reply.

"Ready? Set? Go!" Teko and Daxter yelled.

A race lightened the slightly depressing mood, since by the end of it, though both of us had shown our competitive side, we were laughing like old pals. Jak seemed to relate to me on many levels, which was awesome, because even though Teko could understand me, she didn't know what I was really thinking sometimes. Jak could read me like a book, and I was a dog-eared paperback rolled up in his back pocket.

We might as well have been twins, we were so alike. But he was a few years older than me, so that wasn't the case. Not that it mattered, but I couldn't help wishing. He would've been the best twin brother ever, since he had a gun and he really knew how to use it, unlike me, since I only used a gun when I had to. Either way, when I actually managed to beat him to the end of the lava tube, he tossed me a Power Cell.

"I thought I'd be able to make you earn that." He said, still laughing.

"So you were gonna make her do something to get that even if she didn't challenge you?" Daxter asked, looking impressed.

"Yeah, but I figured maybe we'd be doing some Metal Head hunting or something of the sort. From the looks of it, that's what you did on the mission where you found the Kid." He said, the last part directed at me.

I nodded, then frowned. Jak and Daxter both raised an eyebrow.

"She's saying, 'Yeah, and some of the little buggers got me!'."

"That'd be the scratches I noticed back at the Red Sage's hut when you came back." He said.

I nodded again, before turning toward the Warp Gate. I stepped on it lightly, driving it into the floor with relative ease and waiting for Keira and the others to pop out. Moments later, Keira did, but no one followed. I noticed, very quickly, that she was crying. That set off alarms in my head, and I shared a look with Teko before I approached her where she was standing a few feet away.

My hand immediately went to her shoulder, and she lifted her head to look me in the eyes.

"Father's been kidnapped." She said, sniffing, "And Torn and Ashelin got taken with him."

I briefly wondered who Ashelin was, but then remembered the red-head, and figured it was her.

"Don't worry, Keira. We've got this under control. You'll have Old Green Stuff back in no time, just wait!" Teko said, her usual cheerfulness oddly forced now.

Keira nodded, "Okay, just get him back... Jak, Daxter? Would you go with them? Things would get done faster..."

Both of them nodded, and I smiled at Keira. One of the few messages I ever managed to convey to her without anything more than a look—"_Everything will be alright._"

She smiled weakly back. "I know it will be."

I removed my hand from her shoulder and turned to enter the Citadel. I only briefly stopped to turn and give Jak and Daxter a 'you comin'?' look. They nodded and followed me in. As soon as we entered the actual Citadel, the centre of it, I was shocked—and happy I could jump far. There were almost no floors in this place! A few inexplicably floating plates that spun around continuously were scattered around. Then there were the very few wooden walkways that connected the very centre of the room to the outside of it. Random buttons, which I had no idea what they did at the moment, littered the edges of most of the walkways.

"Been a while since we were here." Jak remarked, "But this place hasn't changed a bit. If everything's how I remember it, Samos should be popping up any second."

Sure enough, to my intense surprise, Samos floated up to the platform we were on.

"It's about time you four got here!" He shouted.

"Nice to see _you_ too, Gramps. What, do they have _you_ mopping the floors now?" Teko and Daxter asked, both of them looking equally annoyed.

They shared a look afterwards, both of them seeming shocked that the other had said the same thing. Jak and I rolled our eyes at the same time in response.

"This is no time for jokes! Jak, Daxter, you should already know why! Free the other Sages, quickly! I won't explain a second time!"

He was then hauled up to the very top level of the room, which made me sigh loudly. Jak looked at me carefully.

"He'll get freed last. The other Sages we can save in any order, but he has to come last. Don't ask me why."

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**Reviewer Corner**

****No reviews available for viewing/response

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**A/N: And Izaya finds out a little about Jak and Daxter. Hope y'all enjoyed.****  
**


	7. Saving Three Sages

**Chapter 7:** Saving Three Sages

**Chapter Song:** Sugar We're Goin' Down, by Fall Out Boy

_"Is this **more than you bargained** for yet?_

_Oh, don't mind me I'm watching you two from the closet..."_

**Mood of the Chapter:** Rushed and worried

* * *

Jak explained to me which routes would take me where and which Sage it would free, based on their positions. He told me nothing had changed since he'd done it, so I knew he knew what he was talking about. I took off to save the Red Sage first, since he said he'd had trouble getting up there due to the fact that he couldn't jump too far.

He waited until I was to the door to head off to free the Yellow Sage. We'd meet back up to save the Blue Sage together and then Samos as well. Then we'd look for Torn and Ashelin. He'd said, "If I'm right, after we find them—or even before, based on how quick we can free the Sages—, we'll have to fight Gol and Maia."

I was already well on my way to getting up to the door when I looked back to see him still standing there, which amused me. I wanted to wave him on to tell him I'd be fine, but he was just making sure I'd make it to the top alive. When I did I turned around again and he turned to go do what he was going to do.

"He sure is protective of you, isn't he? You shoulda heard the thrashing he was giving Torn when I went to get them. All because he 'threatened' you."

I chuckled softly before heading into the room ahead of me to save the Red Sage. I immediately regretted having chosen to save him first. This was _not_ going to be easy.

After making it through the Lurker and Knilaras infested room, I emerged out onto a landing. A large man dressed in red, who I quickly deduced to be the Red Sage, was standing in a cage similar to the one Samos had been in. I noticed a machine that appeared to be powering it, and the small orb on the side of it. After a moment of consideration, I slammed my fist into the glass of the orb, putting a large crack in it. I repeated the action, causing it to shatter almost completely, which also caused a Power Cell to pop out. It was, supposedly, what had been powering the machine.

The bars went down on the cage, and the Red Sage turned around.

"Oh, hello there. You must be Samos's new charge, Izaya." He said. He received a nod and continued, "Well, then. Thank you, Izaya. I'll just use some of my power to begin taking down that force shield."

And so, a large beam of red light impacted the shield around the giant Precursor Robot in the centre of the room. A moment later, not surprisingly, a yellow one joined it. Jak had freed the Yellow Sage at just about the same moment I freed the Red one. I went over to a floating platform that had Blue Eco floating over it and used it to get down to the main level again. I made my way to the only door that wasn't near the entrance or one of the Sages we'd freed and waited for Jak to get there.

"Nice timing." Daxter said in amusement.

"I'll say. One beam goes up, then poof, another one goes up. How many death-traps did you guys go through to get to _your_ Sage?" Teko asked.

"None, actually. We just had to use a bunch of launch pads to get to the other end of the room. It took a while because you have to aim carefully with those things." Daxter replied. "What about you?"

"Well, first was the way up, so that's one, then there was the Lurker and Knilaras ambush, that's two, and then there was the _other_ ambush. So three."

"Hm... There was only one ambush last time. But then again, Knilarases didn't exist back when I did this."

Izaya started tapping her foot and giving Jak a pointed look.

"Oh, yeah. Let's get on saving Samos and the Blue Sage."

"And maybe finding Torn and Ashelin." Teko added.

We all nodded and took off to the last room. In this room, there was a lot of jumping, rolling, and nearly falling off things—most of the time, it was Jak, because, as mentioned before, he can't jump far. He might've had more experience than I did, but I certainly had stronger legs.

We worked well together, though. He was mostly strong in his arms, and I was stronger in my legs, so, while he could punch a Knilaras hard enough to kill it, I could kick one just as hard. Teamwork, anyone?

Anyway, when we _finally_ got through the room (after I had managed to catch him when he fell off a few platforms), we emerged onto yet another platform. The Blue Sage was in a cage exactly like the ones the Red Sage, Samos, and the Yellow Sage—probably— had been, or were, in.

At the same time, though without meaning to, both Jak and I slammed our fists into the orb, breaking it with relative ease and netting us another Power Cell, though I doubted we'd need them again. As Teko said, we can never have too many of them. We currently had a grand total of 91, though how we had managed to gather so many over such a short time I didn't know. I have the sneaking suspicion that Jak had something to do with that.

I won't go into detail about what the Blue Sage said, but it was something along the lines of 'stand back so I can add my power to help take down that shield.', but in tech-talk. He's very well educated, and I would know, since he raised me for a bit after Samos found me.

I'm pretty sure that's because Samos didn't want to take care of me _and_ Jak, but I don't think I'll ever find out for myself.

Anyway, Jak and I made our way up the newly raised platforms. I could practically _feel_ Jak grimacing as we stared at the revolving 'staircase'. This was obviously a very time-based challenge, as just one wrongly timed move could send you plummeting to your death. Oh, boy...

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**Reviewer Corner**

**EchoMizuki: **Thanks, dude! I saw your review right before I uploaded this chapter and thought, "Update comin' right at ya!" Glad you're enjoying it!

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**A/N: Probably only two chapters left in this, at most. I've decided not to cover the in-between time, and just let you know what happens when it's relevant. So you'll be getting the information throughout the sequel. Enjoy!****  
**


	8. The Final Showdown Draws Near

**Chapter 8:** The Final Showdown Draws Near

**Chapter Song:** So Cold, by Breaking Benjamin

_"**Show me how it ends**, it's alright._

_Show me how defenseless you really are."_

**Mood of the Chapter:** Anticipating

* * *

We started up the staircase at the same time, mostly so I could keep him from, well, plummeting to his death like I mentioned earlier. I only had to save him once, surprisingly, but that's mostly because he was timing everything with me. When we finally reached the top, we repeated the number we'd done on the Blue Sage's orb thing, slamming our fists into it at the exact same time.

"It's about time." Samos said, "Now go! Free Torn and Ashelin as quickly as you can."

To my surprise, Gol and Maia didn't show up as soon as he said that, so I took it as a sign that we could go looking for them without interruption. But I got the feeling it wasn't going to be easy.

Why do I always have to be right about that sort of thing?

Jak and I split up and took off down separate hallways that he'd never noticed before. There were _hundreds_ perhaps _thousands_ of doors in that hallway. I looked at Teko before she nodded and jumped off my shoulder. We split up as well as I took the right side and she took the left. She took a much less direct approach than I did, simply opening the door, stepping inside and looking around before moving on, making sure she left the doors open so we'd know the room had been checked already.

As for me, I opened each door carefully, keeping my gun close at hand while I did. Then I would ransack the room, checking every possible hiding place before I left. We continued on like that until I finally found Ashelin. She was bound and gagged in a closet in a room about halfway down the hall.

I untied her quickly before moving and ushering her out of the room and slamming my fist against the wall. Teko came running when I did. It was an unspoken agreement we'd made, when I found something, hit something. Ashelin looked confused until Teko popped up and jumped onto my shoulder.

"I wouldn't doubt that Gol and Maia probably separated the two of you into both of the hallways, but we should keep looking for Torn here." Teko said.

Right as we started to take off to do just that, we found out it was unnecessary, as Daxter came scampering into the room a second later.

"We found Torn, you guys got Ashelin...?" He stopped, noticing her presence before nodding, "Alright come on!"

I let Ashelin go before me, mostly so I could make sure there weren't any traps that were going to be set off on our way back. Yeah, yeah, I'm paranoid, I know. But considering where I was, can you really blame me? We got out of the hallway without a problem, but Gol and Maia appeared as soon as we did. Oh, boy.

"You've managed to save your friends, but you're too late. Come, sister!"

They jumped into the Giant Robot, but not before I managed to shoot Gol a few times. He just doesn't move fast enough. It looked like I was one step closer to the end of my journey, but I didn't feel the relief I should've felt. Only a feeling of impending doom because Gol and Maia were leaving, and Samos was telling us something, but I didn't hear him, I just mentally prepared myself for whatever may be coming.

When Jak and I got into the elevator, all eyes were on me, but I didn't notice, I was too busy making sure I knew I could handle whatever was coming.

"Izaya?" Teko asked.

I looked at her, slightly annoyed that she interrupted my thoughts. "Hm?"

"Are you ready?" She asked.

I just nodded in annoyance and went back to what I'd been doing, prioritizing whatever attacks I might have to use. There was a possibility that Light Eco would be brought into the fight, which Teko didn't even flinch at hearing about. She really _was_ comfortable as an Ottsel.

On the elevator ride up, Jak explained what might happen, just a loose outline, mind. I only nodded absently, trying to make it known that I _didn't care_. We arrived on top of the Citadel, to find that the Sages were already up there. I was confused, but I, of course, didn't say anything. I didn't think anything of it either.

Gol and Maia were trying to open a massive silo, which Jak quickly told me was filled with Dark Eco. Now that I knew what that stuff could do, I was wary of going near it, but I decided to put that aside so I could be ready to kick their butts.

Teko obviously took my sudden train of thought as an indication that I wanted to say something, and translated accordingly. "She says, 'Let's kick ass!'...Or something along those lines."

I chuckled, rolling my eyes again. Jak seemed slightly amused as well.

"Alright then, let's get over there." He said.

I gave him a slightly questioning glance, but he replied, saying, "Hey, I'm not letting you face those nut-jobs alone. I had trouble just doing any damage on them, and I was more experienced than you are."

I shrug-nodded, basically saying, 'okay'. And we made our way over to the platform they were on. This was going to be fun. And I'm not being sarcastic about that, not this time. I was looking forward to getting over there and knocking the two of them into next week. But under that excitement I felt the sense of dread still clinging onto me.

* * *

**Reviewer Corner**

No reviews available for viewing/response

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so, _now_ there's two chapters left. The final chapter and the epilogue. Enjoy! I'll double update tomorrow night to finish it off.****  
**


	9. The Final Fight

**Chapter 9:** The Final Fight

**Chapter Song:** Do It Now, Remember It Later, by Sleeping With Sirens

_"Remember when they said that what we want could never be done?_

_**Well look who's laughing now**. We'll do what we want to, we'll do what we want to, yeah."_

**Mood of the Chapter:** Pumped!

* * *

"You think you can beat us, you little brat?" Maia asked.

My most defiant expression dominated my face. Of course I thought I could win. I had a lot of experience and I had Jak with me as well. How could I lose? Rhetorical question, by the way. I knew very well that, like the staircase inside, one wrong move could get me killed. I sucked in a breath as they readied their mech to fire at us.

_Here goes...somethin'!_ I said to myself, mentally shaking myself. _I can do this!_

Their first shot missed us completely, slamming into the silo. I growled under my breath and scooped up a cluster of Yellow Eco. Teko got another two in the jar and brought it back to me, just in case. I opened fire on Gol and Maia, before Jak could even start to cock his gun. Apparently he wasn't very good at channelling Eco anymore. Oh, well.

With both of us releasing volley after volley of shots and fireballs, their first weapon didn't last long. So they got frustrated and fired a large bomb. I got charged up with Blue Eco and grabbed Jak, literally dragging him onto the launcher and jumping into the air right before the bomb hit.

"Nice timing." He said when we hit the ground.

The silo was opened farther and they were firing Yellow Eco into it.

"You concentrate on whatever pops out of that, Jak, let us take on Gol and Maia!" Teko yelled.

Jak only nodded and opened fire onto the monstrosities that came out. I handed Teko the gun and she started firing on Gol and Maia's mech while I continued to fire off Yellow Eco, effectively recreating what I'd done with Jak the previous time. Whenever one of the creatures from inside the silo got near me, a hasty fireball to the face took care of it.

And believe me, that happened often...but it was oddly satisfying.

Soon, their Yellow Eco cannon was destroyed as well, and I repeated the number with Jak and the launcher. This time he didn't say anything when we landed though. He just continued firing on Gol and Maia while Teko and I provided a little extra. They fired large red orbs that sent out a shockwave after a moment. I only needed to get hit by one once to find out that that was something I _really_ wanted to avoid. And it only barely clipped me too.

Though, like the last two weapons, soon this one was destroyed as well. This was too easy. They _had_ to have some sort of secret weapon up their sleeves, especially with Jak here and _knowing_ what was coming. They did, unsurprisingly. It scared me, too. They started firing small bombs that backed us both closer and closer to the _very_ open centre of the silo. They fired two last ones that would have sent all four of us plummeting into the Dark Eco, if not for my quick thinking and reflexes.

Jak didn't move fast enough, but Daxter managed to get off his shoulder before he fell in, instead jumping onto mine before I got too far away. I had jumped over the explosion right before it actually reached me and landed on the other side. I gave Daxter a concerned look, hoping he'd understand.

"Oh, Jak'll be fine. He's chock full of that stuff. The worst it'll do is send him into Dark mode."

I gave him a very disbelieving look right before Jak popped out of the silo. I was practically radiating shock as I stared at him. And I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the ground. He was _perfectly fine_! Had I been anyone else, I probably would've fainted; instead I just shook my head and gave the heavens a look before reorienting on Gol and Maia. They were just as shocked as I was, which gave me quite the opportunity.

Fireball after fireball crashed into their robot, and soon Jak and Teko were back to shooting it full of holes. I noticed something white forming above us.

"Light Eco!" Daxter yelled, "Jak, get some of that stuff, Light form will probably finish this fight off!"

Some landed right next to me, and I tentatively reached out to touch it, recoiling when it shocked me. And Light Eco was supposed to be the _peaceful_ Eco. I shook my head at Teko and took the gun from her, continuing to fire on them until Jak scooped up some of that stuff and went into a different form. He started, like, glowing blue and grew wings. I noted with some envy that it didn't seem to hurt _him_.

"What, so Jak can touch that shit but you can't? There's something wrong with this picture. Didn't Daxter just tell us that Jak was chock full of _Dark_ Eco?"

I shrugged at Teko helplessly. She had jumped down to the ground and was staring at Jak, but turned to me after she asked the question.

We watched from the other side of the silo as he let out a large blast of the white stuff and the Precursor Robot came spinning through the air towards the silo. It crashed into the middle, spraying Dark Eco over the entire platform.

This time it was me who didn't move fast enough. I got hit with a fair amount of it, but nothing seemed to be happening. I felt a slight burning sensation, but other than that... Nothing. I just stood there, blinking absently.

Teko and basically everyone else was staring at me.

"Uh... Izaya?" Daxter finally managed to ask.

I looked at him before I actually realized what had happened. I let out a nervous laugh that turned kind of hysterical as I looked at the now closed silo.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that means, 'Oh my gods, how am I still alive?!'" Teko said.

I slightly nodded before I placed a hand on my chest, feeling my own heart pounding quickly. I did a quick once over, noting with no small amount of shock that I was still me, and not an Ottsel. I let out another shaky laugh before shaking my head to clear it and got onto the approaching Blue Eco platform. It waited for Teko, Jak, and Daxter before it started back towards the platform that the Sages, Keira, Torn, and Ashelin were on.

"Izaya, you no doubt noticed that Dark Eco had no effect on you..."

And the rest is history.

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**Reviewer Corner**

No reviews available for viewing/response

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**A/N: Last chapter! :) The Epilogue will be up in a few minutes, since I had it and this one written as stock chapters just so I could do this! See you in the next one, Izaya II: Dark Fighters!****  
**


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Chapter Song:** Here's To Us, by Halestorm

_"**Here's to us, here's to love. All the times we f-cked up.**_

**_Here's to you, fill the glass, cause the last few days have kicked my ass._**

_**So let's give 'em hell, wish everybody well. Here's to us. Here's to us.**"_

**Mood of the Chapter:** Tired and Peaceful  


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Heh, it's hard to believe that all that happened in such a short amount of time. After that fight with Gol and Maia I took a couple of months to rest up and let what Samos had ended up telling me sink in. After I felt good enough about myself, I set about restoring the Citadel to a usable state. No more bottomless pits now, which _everyone_ was pretty happy about. Okay, so there are a _few_ bottomless pits, but they're mostly security measures.

Yeah, I live in the Citadel now. Samos says he doesn't want another repeat of that adventure, so he stationed me up there to keep them from ever coming back. That, and from what he told me, it was supposed to be mine anyway. I wasn't supposed to have to fight Gol and Maia before taking control, they were supposed to be dead and not coming back. So, I got the Citadel officially given to me on my seventeenth birthday, a few months after I had restored it.

Of course, this adventure pales in comparison to the one that came next. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Well, I guess I'll see you next time, when I finally do tell about that adventure. I look forward to telling it, so I hope you'll come back to hear about it.

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**Reviewer Corner**

No reviews available for viewing/response

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**A/N: See you next time, in the second installment of the Izaya and Teko series... Izaya II: Dark Fighters!****  
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